Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Trading 2.1% Higher - Here's Why

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares were up 2.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.31 and last traded at $74.03. Approximately 4,130,331 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 17,055,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.85. The stock has a market cap of $243.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.